Lightning strikes on Tuesday have left somewhere between 15 and 39 people dead in several regions of Uganda, media reports said on Wednesday.
While the official number has not been determined, Uganda’s news agency, the Daily Monitor, reports that a total of 21 people had been killed as of Wednesday morning. Other media reports have put the total at 39.
By 10 p.m., local time, 18 students and one student teacher from the Kiryandongo District had died from severe burns at Kiryandongo hospital.
In Eastern Uganda, there were two other deaths when lightning struck a village in Sironko District. One of the two men was identified as 58-year-old Hassan Wandulu, who was struck at 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
One other death occurred in the Karamoja region, in northeast Uganda. The victim was identified as Raffle Lotyang, a student at Kotido Army Primary School, a police spokesman told media.
The bout of lightning strikes is the worst in Uganda’s history, as unusually heavy rainstorms descended upon the country.
Politicians are trying to grapple with the shocking deaths, as the issue took center stage in Ugandan Parliament on Tuesday, reported the Daily Monitor.
Lightning Kills Up to 39 in Uganda
Lightening strikes on Tuesday have left somewhere between 15 and 39 people dead in several regions of Uganda.
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